Sarcopenia: Definition, Epidemiology, and Pathophysiology

Abstract

The epidemiological trends that characterize our generation are the aging of the popu-lation. Aging results in a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength called sarcopenia,which is Greek for ‘poverty of flesh’. Sarcopenia could lead to functional impairment,physical disability, and even mortality. Today, sarcopenia is a matter of immense public concern for aging prevention. Its prevalence continues to rise, probably as a result of in-creasing elderly populations all over the world. This paper addressed the definition and epidemiology of sarcopenia and its underlying pathophysiology. In addition, we sum-marized the abundant information available in the literature related to sarcopenia, to-gether with results from Korean sarcopenic obesity study (KSOS) that we performed.